Sea anchor



April 12, 1949. FARRELL 2,46 ,692

SEA ANCHOR Filed July 51, 1945 Patented A15}. 12, 1949 UNITED "STATES, PATENr cance A :Ltttftttfaltttfiazfttt This invention is directed to an improvement in sea anchors, wherein provision is made for maintaining the anchor floating in the water and constructed in more or less rigid form and designed to exert more or less instantaneous rip or resistance when thrown into the water.

The conventional sea anchor usually a canvas cone held open at the large end and connected to the boat by the usual painter is decidedly objectionable in that it tends in action to sink below the surface, creating a pull on the painter in the downward direction, holding the bow of the boat down and materially interfering with its buoyancy in response to wave action.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of a sea anchor inherently formed to float at a definite floating line at or near the surface of the water to thereby maintain the painter leading to the boat on a line to avoid downward drag on the bow of the boat, and thus permit the boat to maintain its normal buoyancy in response to the waves.

A further object of the invention is the provision of the anchor of metal, preferably galvanized, and so constructed that the normally closed parts thereof may be opened for painting or other treatment of the interior, or to renew the internal floats to insure a compact and weather-proof sea anchor at all times ready for use and serving to hold the boat in proper position to respond to the drag of the anchor without material change in buoyancy.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the preferred form of sea anchor.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same, partly broken out. I

Figure 3 is a. section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical section of a modified form of sea anchor.

The improved sea anchor is preferably but not necessarily constructed of galvanized metal, having an annular side wall I of appropriate length, closed at the smaller and by a wall 2 and open at the larger end. The larger end of the anchor faces the connected ship in use, and will be hereinafter termed the front end of the anchor. A

partition 3 bridges the space within the annular 7 Claims. (Cl. 114-209) 8, preferably a block or blocks ofbalsa wood, serv- 7 ing as a floating agent, while the lower compartment is formed with openings 9 to permit the rapid entry of the water on the emersion of the anchor, or if preferred, this compartment may be provided with a. requisite quantity of storm oil, which seeping from the anchor tends to quiet the water between the anchor and boat,

' as well understood.

The anchor as a whole is provided at appropriate points with metal orrope eyes ill, to which the anchor bridle ropes may be connected and joined at their ends to the usual painter leading to and connected to the boat.

If desired, the compartments 6 and 1 may, by the use of a vertical partition II, in the space 4, be divided to provide two upper compartments and two lower compartments. This construction, while not necessary to the function of success of the anchor, nevertheless insures its rigidity and long life.

The various partitions described are connected within the wall I and to the wall 2 in a manner I to permit their convenient removal, to conveniently permit painting the interior of the anchor, renewing or replacing the balsa wood, 0 the storm oil, if used.

The anchor in use, when thrown into the water after being connected to the boat, will immediately sink in a vertical position and to a depth permitted by the buoyancy of the balsa wood, which is intended and designed to hold a small vertical length of the anchor as a. whole more or less permanently above the surface of the water. This is an important characteristic in sea anchors in that it tends to maintain a drag on the boat which does not exert any downward tendency on the bow of the boat, and thus does not interfere with the normal buoyancy of the boat.' If the sea anchor sinks in the water as a whole, there is a downward drag on the painter and a corresponding downward drag on the bow of the boat. on the boat permits the boat to float with its normal buoyancy so that it will ride easily headonto the sea and will not swing broad side while riding on the sea anchor. Maintaining the sea anchor in a more or less floatable relation to expose a definite area thereof above the surface of the water serves also to maintain the anchor for the greater portion of its weight in area below the surface of the water and thus provide in a sea anchor of materially less size than the conventional sea anchor the proper and desired functions wheninuse.

This avoidance of down drag The sea amber is weather-proof, compact for storage, and instantly available for use in any .emergencyrequiring it;

Figure 4 illustrates a slightly modified iorm' of the improved sea anchor, wherein the sea anchor as a whole is mounted for folding for more convenient storage or shipping. To this end the annular side wall, here indicated at l2. and the forward end wall, here indicated at 13, are divided on transverse lines l4, and the sections of the end wall l2 are provided with hinges l5, two

or more being preferably used. The transverse partition, here indicated at It, is also divided in line with the divisions of the end wall, as at IT,

and the compartment-forming partition is made in two parts or sections IB-and I 9, each one of which is secured to one of the divisions ii of the transverse partition.

The annular side wall I is also divided in line with the other divisions, so that as formed, the

relation of parts and a bolt or other connection 22 secures the abutting lugs together to render the sea anchor rigid as an integral whole.

What I-claim is:

' 1. A sea anchor, comprising a body closed atlower compartments, buoyant means in the upper compartment to exert a buoyant influence on the .anchor, the lower compartment being open to the water to maintain the anchor upright in the water.

4. 3. A sea anchor, comprising'an annular wall, an end wall at one end of the annular wall, a

. partition parallel to the end wall and fitted in the annular wall, a cross partition dividing the space between the end wall and the first-mentioned partition into an upper and a lower chamber, balsa wood in the upper chamber to exert a buoyant influence on the anchor, the lower chamber being open to the water to cause such water to enter the lower chamber and exert a weight influence on the anchor.

4. A construction as defined in claim 3, wherein the lower compartment may serve as a receptacle for storm oil to provide the weight influence on the anchor.

5. A construction as defined in claim 3, wherein the partitions are removable at will to provide access to the chambers and to the interior of the anchor.

6. A sea anchor comprising a body closed at one end and open at the other, the body being formed with two compartments, one of said compartments being open to the sea, and buoyant material in the other of said compartments for maintaining the anchor in floating condition with the closed end in substantially vertical position.

7. A sea anchor comprising a body closed at one end and open at the other, partitions in the body forming two compartments therein, said body being divided diametrically to form two substantially duplicate and complementary sections, each having one of said compartments therein, means connecting said sections for hinged movement, and means for releasably fastening said sections in fixed anchor forming relation.

' VALDEMAR C. FARRELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Campbell Nov. 19, 1918 

